My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,481 describes an outboard motor tote that is excellent for helping a person to mount or remove a heavy article such as an outboard motor from the transom of a boat, which is an especially difficult job when the boat is bobbing about in a heavy sea. While this product is very good, there are certain areas in which performance can be improved. In my original design there was no way to orient strap portions on either side of the handle at an oblique angle without weakening the staps, for example, by cutting each strap and then sewing the cut portions together adjacent the handle. It is thus one object of the invention to find a better way of arranging the straps so that they are oriented at an oblique angle and diverge from one another at the point where they are connected to the handle without cutting or in any way weakening either the straps or the handle.
Another drawback of the prior design was the difficulty encountered in mounting a reinforcing plate and a somewhat complex layered construction employed for connecting the reinforcing plate to the handle and to the straps. Accordingly, it is another object to simplify construction where the reinforcing plate and handle are connected together and to make it easy for the reinforcing plate to be mounted in place and securely retained on the finished carrier.
In the prior design, it was sometimes possible for water to enter the pockets on the cover. It is another object of the invention to find a way of making it less likely for water to enter pockets provided on each side of the cover.
These and other more detailed and specific objects of the present invention will be apparent in view of the following description setting forth by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention that will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the principles described herein are understood.